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| 19C. Toile and ticking lined Cushions in red/white shades | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A selection of toile-covered cushions all made from short remnants or damaged pieces too small to do anything else! Depending on the size of the pattern or picture, I cut the cushion shape accordingly and sometimes it is a good idea to place a cut out sheet of transparent poly. sheeting on top as a guide so that you get it exactly right and don't cut off the heads of the important people depicted. If cushions are to be used a lot, have them made with a zip hidden under the piped edges and use a washable trim of bobbles or braid or cotton cord. Down feathers make the best fillings but are expensive, otherwise use duck feathers. If you have a worn-out and leaking eiderdown, you will be able to make lots of luxurious cushions with the down/feathers but it is a messy job to extract all the contents and needs to be done outside on a still day or in a garage. Wear an overall and cover your hair! Put any surplus feathers in a plastic bin bag and tie tightly.! I do not recommend chicken feathers - they get lumpy and can smell unpleasant! If you are using valuable, fine toile, it makes sense to back the cushions with ticking or all-over diaper pattern in matching colour; and back the toile itself with an extra layer of fine cotton; this will also help to make it stronger to take more wear. Linen sheeting is equally good, but choose a faded shade as Persil white is too obvious! When you stuff your cushions, make sure you push a handful into each corner of the pad to fill it out, then fill the remaining bag-space, with an extra handful for the final opening, which you must stitch down firmly with fine feather-proof stitching. Shake well and place in your zipped cover. Do not over-fill as the cushion needs to support the sitter comfortably and must not burst under the strain!
